Our merry little band of goodwill ambassadors left Washington/Dulles Airport at 10:30 pm on October 12th….Columbus Day. Prior to departure, my old college friend, Susan Noble Jones, her husband Robin, and best friend Cathy, helped me place Bank Plus Bookplates inside 500 copies of “Promises I Made My Mother” to take to the troops as gifts from me, the Miss Americas, and Bank Plus. Robin Jones kindly offered us the use of his law office in Georgetown, for the coordination of packing the books in eight Easton Duffle Bags weighing 65 pounds per bag, and we then headed to the airport. United Airlines was wonderful to me. Due to the fact that the 8 duffles full of books weighed 500 pounds over my limit for baggage, we had been quoted approximately $3,000 for the overage. When United found out what I was doing, and where I was going, they waived the baggage fees completely. I will always be grateful for their generosity. We landed in Kuwait at 5:30 pm on Tuesday the 13th. We had a wonderful Kuwaiti woman named Utch meet me and the six Miss Americas….Miss America 1985 Sharlene Wells, Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 1981 Susan Powell, Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1948 BeBe Shoppe, and Miss Utah 2007 Jill Stevens at the Kuwait Airport to help us secure our Visas, and help us get through customs with my 8 duffles containing the 500 copies of my book for the soldiers, my two pieces of personal luggage, and all of the girl’s bags as well. Doug, our driver, and Sargeant Juan Valle, our base escort, took us to Ali Al Salem Air Force Base…known as The Rock…there we moved into special barracks prepared for us. I was bunking in with the guys, and the Miss Americas had their own barracks. We had dinner in the base mess hall, and we are scheduled to meet with the base commander the next morning at 9:00. We witnessed 12 bus loads of soldiers departing the base, headed home from Iraq. We went to the PX after dinner to pick up a few things each of us needed, and then we tucked into bed for the night. On Wednesday morning October 14th at 5:30 am, I dragged myself out of my bed. I was awakened all night long by soldiers coming and going from the barracks as shifts were starting and ending. I got up early so that I could walk to the showers before everyone else got up to use them. I was able to call Mary from my blackberry, and at 7:30 am, Juan and our new driver Brenton, arrived to take us to the mess hall for breakfast. I gifted 125 copies of “Promises” to the soldiers at The Rock that we met and spoke to on Wednesday at the Medical Facility, the Security Department, the Transportation Department, the Computer Department, and to the staff of Wing Commander, Colonel John R. Gordy…..Colonel Gordy basically runs the Air Force Division of The Rock, and he’s an awesome guy from North Carolina. He is supported by Major Rob McCabe from Sarasota, Florida. Susan Powell was always so bright and witty, Heather Whitestone was the most endearing, and 80 years young BeBe Shoppe was the most amazing! BeBe is the Grand Dame of our group. I took a walk to the computer center with Susan Powell tonight before dinner…shot some video around the base where we spent time with the soldiers today. Susan and I pondered why we didn’t find a Starbucks anywhere!!! (But we did find a Subway and a Pizza Inn). We had dinner at the mess hall at 6:30 pm, and we were joined by our new friend Major Rob McCabe who told us everything we needed to know about conditions in Afghanistan….such a great help to us! I planned to try and sleep a couple of hours, get up at midnight to take my shower, and then get ready to depart. October 15th – We left Kuwait last night at 0230 hours (2:30 am). We were all fitted with bullet proof vests, helmets, and armor, and we had to wear it all on the plane. BeBe Shoppe carried her own armor and it weighed 50 pounds. The C17 plane felt like it was the size of a football field…like Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose! We were on the plane with 150 soldiers dressed for battle. The soldiers entered the plane from a ramp up the rear of the plane….it looked like something right out of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”! The Miss Americas and I were seated along the perimeter of the inside of the plane, with the soldiers seated in rows in front of us. The take off was amazing, and the engines were so loud, we needed ear plugs. The three Air Force pilots invited me into the cockpit during the four hour flight from Kuwait to Afghanistan. The pilots names were Brandon, Matt, and Tony….26, 24, and 21 respectively. All young enough to be my sons….unreal!!! I loved being up there with them, and they asked me about all the bags of books that they had loaded onto the plane before take-off. When they found out I was the author, they all wanted one or two copies for their wives and/or mothers. They sent a soldier to the cargo area of the giant C17, and told him to retrieve a box of my books for me to sign to them. I then took the Miss Americas up to the cockpit, and the pilots loved that! When the plane began it’s descent to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, it was the roughest and worst landing I’ve ever experienced. Apparently quick, corkscrew landings are standard operating procedure for combat zones. It was like riding the worst rollercoaster you’ve ever been on, all inside of a whale! The Great American Scream Machine (infamous roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia) has NOTHING on the US Air Force! I broke out into a complete body sweat…was drenched, and I was so nauseous, I didn’t know if I would make it. I willed myself not to throw up….literally willed myself. Susan Powell told me that I turned a pale (ARMY) green. Nicole Johnson was very attentive and gave me a bottle of water. Jill Stevens kept asking if I needed anything……but I held it together. Once off the plane, we went through customs, and retrieved our luggage, as well as the hundreds of books I had with me. The Base Commander, Henry “Buck” Buckley was there to meet us, give us our itinerary, and then take us to our barracks. And guess what? When Commander Buckley introduced himself, he said….”You’re Sam Haskell”, and I replied, “Yes, I am”, and he said, “I’m Buck Buckley and I graduated from Ole Miss, too, and I know everything about you!”. Needless to say, he took great care of me and my Miss Americas. Our first stop in Afghanistan was Camp Montrand, home of the 7th Special forces group, where we met up with the guys from Platoon 220 -the Mississippi National Guard of Jackson, and they were so glad to see me, and I was thrilled to see them. A couple of them had already received a copy of “Promises” from their Moms back home, but I made sure each and every one of them had a copy before we left them. We then toured the Base Hospital and spoke with the entire emergency team of doctors and nurses there. A young man had just been brought in with extreme injuries to his right leg, as was a small Afghan boy who was the victim of an explosion. As we were leaving, a helicopter with three more victims of the explosion were arriving. The head of the ER let us watch the surgery to save the leg of a local Afghan man. Our Miss Utah Jill Stevens, a combat medic, was allowed to scrub in. In a lighter moment, many of the doctors relieved their stress by trying on Heather Whitestone’s Miss America Crown, which she brought with her. October 16th – We were flown on Blackhawk Helicopters to Camp Phoenix in Kabul where we met extensively with the Georgia National Guard Unit, and then we were flown out to Camp Black Horse outside of Kabul to meet with the Marines and have lunch. These guys loved meeting the Miss Americas, and each one was given a copy of my book. As we were putting on our combat gear (each of us was fitted with a set of bullet proof armor, vests, and helmets), we started making a run for the Helicopter to be flown to the next FOB (Forward Operating Base). A young soldier chased after me, onto the tarmac with his unit leader, asking if he could please have a copy of my book. He told me that he had missed the Miss America presentation and my book signing, and that his friends had already started reading the book, and he wanted one too. I stopped right there, reached into my duffle bag full of books, and signed one for him. The girls posed for a photo, we hugged him, and off we went to New Kabul, the location of the Afghanistan War Command Central. When we arrived, Miss America 1985, Sharlene Wells, (I was one of her judges that year), took us to Major General John McDonald’s office for a meet and greet. He brought his entire team of officers in to brief us. We also got to meet Lieutenant General Daniel Rodriguez who is a personal friend of Miss America 1948, BeBe Shoppe. Generals Rodriguez and McDonald are the #2 and #3 Generals, under General McCrystal, in the Afghanistan War leadership hierarchy. I signed copies of my book for both Generals, we did a meet and greet and book signing for over 100 members of their staff of military officers, and we flew the Blackhawks back to Bagram. There we were whisked away immediately to meet the F15 Air Force Fighter Squadron, manned by the Seymour Johnson Air Force Pilots of North Carolina. Our guides were two incredible Pilots/Heroes with the call signs “Wickie” and Chronic”…..much like the call signs Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer and group used in the film, “Top Gun.” The Miss Americas all got a chance to sit in the cockpit of the F15’s, and pose for pictures. Susan Powell is the funniest woman I’ve ever known. She had every soldier and General wrapped around her little finger. Ericka Dunlap, the youngest of the Miss Americas traveling with us, has really been a “main attraction” for the guys. She’s also currently starring in CBS’s “The Amazing Race,” and all of the soldiers have recognized her. Heather Whitestone, our only deaf Miss America, has been the most inspirational person on our trip. When she spoke to the men, and told them that her three boys asked her to come to Afghanistan to “give the soldiers hugs,” they couldn’t line up quickly enough. Nicole Johnson, our only diabetic Miss America, was also an inspiration…not only for her strength and conviction, but for sharing her stories of her father and his lifelong career in the military. Jill Stevens Shepherd – Miss Utah 2007, is a nurse who actually served in the Utah National Guard for 8 years, and served in active duty in Afghanistan in 2005-06. Her example was eagerly admired by every soldier she met, not to mention the admiration for her beauty! The next morning, Saturday October 17th, we were awakened at 3:00 am to fly to FOB Fenty at Jalalabad. Because this is war, the best time to travel is in the wee hours of the morning. Colonel Randy George, Base Commander, met us at the airfield and took us on a tour to meet his men. He presented us with special service certificates and his personal medal as thanks! I signed several hundred books at FOB Fenty, and the girls signed hundreds of photos and posed for pictures. Heather Whitestone and I were taken back to command headquarters where we got to meet, once again, with Three Star General Daniel Rodriguez – #2 Commander of the American Forces in Afghanistan. Colonel Randy George was having the General speak to the joint staffs at Jalalabad, and when the General saw me and Heather, he came right up to us, told me he was enjoying my book so much, that he loved Ray Romano’s Forward, etc. Heather gave him a big hug which he loved. We posed for pictures, and Heather told him how much she admired him and respected him. He was taken with Heather’s courage as a deaf woman, to be experiencing this. He had a huge smile on his face as he thanked us for our service to his men. We then got back into our helicopter’s and flew out to the northern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan to visit the soldiers at FOB Bostick. Bostick is the forward operating base where the survivors of the COP Keating Fritsche Bravo Troop from the 4th Infantry in Ft. Carson, Colorado were now stationed. Eight of their brothers were killed in a Taliban ambush two weeks ago. Though still a bit shaken, the men told us the story of their 12 hour battle, witnessing the loss of their men, the lack of ammunition, the aftermath, the lockdown for 48 hours, and finally the US bombing of their own facility and entire camp at Keating Fritsche, to destroy anything that could help the Taliban…something I never knew needed to happen after an attack on an American Camp. We flew back to Jalalabad for lunch and a meet and greet with the men there. We got to spend time with Specialist Ty Carter, another one of the survivors of the Bravo attack at COP (command operating post) Keating. He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor for his heroic life saving tactics during the ambush. He cried, and so did we, as he recounted his story to us. We then boarded our helicopters and flew back to Bagram. We were taken to Bagram’s Joint Operating Command (JOC), where we met with the outstanding men and women who run and monitor the computer tracking system for each and every command post. If an attack happens, JOC is responsible for initiating immediate reinforcements and back-up. There were 60 men and women working at the JOC, and it was so impressive. We also got to meet General Carey, General Byrne, and General Chris Scaparratti…..who heads the command forces of the 82nd Infantry at Bagram. I signed copies of my book for each of the Generals, and 150 of their men that evening. The Generals thanked Commander Buckley for bringing us to meet them, and each of them presented us with their personal COIN….a real honor we learned later. We had also received similar medals from Generals Rodriguez and MacDonald, and three other Base Commanders the day before. Sharlene, Bebe, Susan, Ericka, Heather, Nicole, and Jill were so awesome with the guys. They never faltered, though they were exhausted, and they greeted every soldier as if he or she was the most important person in the world. Susan’s comedy, Heather’s kindness, Nicole’s class, Ericka’s confidence, and Sharlene’s interview skills showed the guys that these women were more than Beauty Queens….although they loved that aspect as well!!! Bebe’s great line, as the grandmother of the group was: “You may not know my name boys, but trust me, your Grandfathers did”! The boys loved that. Jill was recognized by most of the soldiers based on her press as Miss Utah 2007-the soldier! They were proud that one of their own had become a finalist in the Miss America Pageant. That night at dinner, as we entered the mess hall at Bagram, it was packed with soldiers, and there really was no place for us to sit. A Lieutenant Colonel motioned us over, and he had several of his men move to make room for us. As Commander Buckley, Heather, Jill, Susan, Nicole and I were seated, we started recounting the events of the day. The officer asked me who we were. After telling him all about our trip, he asked each of us where we were from, and when I mentioned Mississippi, he got the biggest smile on his face, and he said, I’m from Meridian, Mississippi and I graduated from Ole Miss. I was astounded. His name was Lieutenant Colonel Archie Godwin. It warmed my heart that the nice man who made room for us to sit down, was none other than a fellow Mississippian! I also want to add something about our meals. The food was terrific, many freshly prepared choices, and everything was so clean. On Sunday morning, several of the girls joined BeBe and Sharlene at church, and then we said goodbye to Commander Buckley, Thea, and Justin, (our Bagram Security Team)and flew on another C17 from Bagram back to Kuwait. Our flight to Kuwait had been canceled the day before, and Sharlene was on the phone for hours reworking our flight schedules. We got a good night’s sleep, and then hit the ground running the morning of the 19th, as we proceeded to have meet and greets with every command post on the Ali Al Salem Air Force Base…an awesome opportunity to spend time with the men and women stationed there. We found out that very few of the Armed Forces Entertainment groups ever do this. For our last night in Kuwait, the girls had to share a barracks with four Army women, and I shared a barracks with 7 other men. You’ll never guess who my bunk mate was! His name was Lieutenant Colonel Bill Clarke from Biloxi, Mississippi, and HE graduated from Ole Miss as well. We had dinner at the mess hall, watched Ericka Dunlap’s appearance on CBS’s The Amazing Race, and then we were driven to Kuwait International Airport to fly back to DC. We arrived in DC at 6:00 am on Tuesday October 20th. We all hugged and cried as we said our goodbyes!

Much has been said about our military involvement in Afghanistan. I have pondered the same questions that everyone else has. Why are we there? How long should we stay there? What good can come of this war from the point of view of the American people? How many lives do we have to lose before we pull out? All logical questions. Here are my thoughts. This war is not a political war. This conflict must continue until the Afghanistan people who are NOT part of the Taliban can take their country back under their own “educated” influence. We must help train their soldiers, educate their people, and teach them how to use modern techniques to grow their own food, create new industry, mine their natural resources, and help them understand that everything that they need to survive, can not be imported. I spent many hours last week talking to our soldiers….intelligent, strong men and women….some even teenagers, who honestly believe in what they are fighting for. I spent an hour talking to a soldier whose sole responsibility it is to teach the Afghanis how to grow their own food. He explained that their techniques are more than 300 years old! I talked to the soldiers who are training the Afghani men to be soldiers. He told me that these men need understanding and friendship more than they need hard core discipline. They have no self esteem, and that’s the way the Taliban wants it. The only way for the Taliban to take control again, is if we leave too soon. If General McCrystal needs 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan to allow these people to declare their independence from the Taliban and the War Lords, then I think he should be supported. The United States has always represented the leadership of the free world. Without a US involvement, the Afghanistan people will never be free. Pakistan is just waiting for us to leave too soon.

All my best,
SAM

P.S. The night after we left, the Taliban attacked Bagram Air Force Base, where we had spent the last 3 nights. Thankfully no one was killed. God is good.